New on Resy: Hainan House, Ria’s, Pizzeria Mozza, and More

The attractions of Ria’s on the All Saints Road in Notting Hill are many. Coffee, cocktails on tap, natural wines, and, by night, pizza. Ria’s particular pies are Detroit-style deep dish, with all the frazzled cheesy edges and pillowy dough the designation implies. Order them whole or by the slice, choosing from a fortnightly rotation of toppings like whipped ricotta and marinara sauce, vegan ‘nduja, or salsa macha king prawns. Masha Glazacheva (Big Jo, Allegra) is on the pans.

This Islington newcomer, mere seconds from the Screen on the Green, is born of Sunny Wu and chef Irena Hua’s longing for the taste of home. Hua (ex-Ombra and Dumpling Shack) finds it in iconic Hainanese dishes like hún rice noodles, here with beef jerky, yi bua sticky rice cakes with papaya jam, and the house poached poussin. The concise menu of small plates, noodles, and generous sharers doesn’t shy from simple pleasures like chilli salt fruit and soothing silken tofu either. You can sign up to their newsletter via an “i want chinese food!” link.

Thai night market meets American diner at Chet’s, the casually cool restaurant within The Hoxton, Shepherd’s Bush. The hybrid concept makes for some explosive flavours. Sticky wings, fried and glazed, come with ‘three flavour party sauce’; larb fritters with creamy goddess dip; crispy rice salad packed with peanuts, ginger, coriander. Or, just have a smashburger – your call. On the all-day menu, you’ll find banana French toast with pandan cream, Thai Cobb salad, or a club sandwich with papaya slaw. Bring friends, try lots, drink cocktails.

This small but perfectly formed Soho tapas bar is dedicated to that glorious Spanish snack, the croqueta (also small but perfectly formed). You’ll find them on the blackboard menu in many guises: with sobrasada and Mahon cheese drizzled in honey; draped in ham; or stuffed with king prawn and drenched in aioli. Man cannot live on croquetas alone, so throw in some patatas bravas, salt cod and chickpeas, and maybe a chargrilled baby gem salad with goats’ cheese. Excellent Spanish wines and sherries, as you’d expect from this Brindisa spin-off.

Nancy Silverton’s a legend in sourdough circles, particularly in California, where she opened the first Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles back in 2006, slinging pies for the likes of Spielberg and co. This chic outpost, a few blocks up from Oxford Circus, arrived in 2021, introducing a Cal-Ital style pie to London’s big pizza party. Classics from L.A include the Benno with speck, pineapple and jalapeño, and a pizza bianca with fennel sausage and red onion. Don’t overlook the chopped salad, the namesake mozzarella appetisers or the butterscotch budino.

Poon’s Wontoneria, currently residing at Carousel, is the work of Amy Poon, daughter of Bill, whose Covent Garden restaurant back in the day won a Michelin star and a jet set following (Mick, Jerry, Barbra, Frank…). The Wontoneria, as the name suggests, focuses on wontons, freshly made with pork, chicken, prawn or vegetable fillings. Marina O’Loughlin, Nigella Lawson, and Fuchsia Dunlop all wax lyrical about them. The succinct menu is rounded out with some small plates such as chilled sesame rice noodles, youtiao, and Poon’s wind-dried sausage. Sip tea, soda, or a Pooña Colada.

Bermondsey Corner is a corner shop fit for London’s coolest street, its shelves laden with bottles of natural wine, whole French cheeses, sourdough bread, homemade biscuits, jams and honey. Nip in after the White Cube for patisserie and a Monmouth coffee or reserve a spot for a simple meal of pâté en croûte, cheese, and tinned fish, matched with a glass of something good. Weather permitting, you’ll find outside seating on the White Cube lot. Open until 10pm Fridays and Saturdays.

Counter 71 and Lowcountry together comprise one of London’s most unlikely hospitality concepts: a converted Hoxton pub with a Deep South-inspired cocktail bar in the basement and a modern British chef’s table restaurant above it. Joe Laker (Fenn, Anglo, Roots) cooks a 15-course menu of intelligent dishes that seeks to both comfort and provoke. Langoustine custard, crab and buttermilk; beef tartare, fermented chilli, bone marrow, and tomato, rhubarb, elderflower give a suggestion of what you might encounter. Make time before or after for a drink and some southern hospitality at Lowcountry. For a deep dive on what to expect, read more here.

Another good reason to head to Blackstock Road on your next evening out comes in the form of Giacco’s, a friendly little independent wine bar and kitchen. They’ll sort you out with some a bowl of pappardelle with beef ragù, some crab agnolotti, and a plate or two of cheese or charcuterie. The low intervention wines, sourced from serious names like Gergovie and Ancestrel, lean Italian too. Keep an eye out for occasional guest chef nights.

Tsiakkos & Charcoal is that little restaurant you remember from your Greek holidays only here it is, in west London. This long-established family-run spot is small, simple, and homey, with a garden out back to approximate the taverna by the beach. Enjoy classic Greek Cypriot food such as moussaka and kleftiko, and sea bream or chicken souvlaki grilled over the coals.

Red Vine is a colourful, rustic little bistro on Clapham Common South Side. It’s somewhere to gather with family or friends and crack open a bottle or two and indulge in some classic comfort food. Split small plates of ham hock and cheddar croquettes or deep-fried mussels and aioli, ahead of hearty plates of battered haddock, homemade chips and minted peas or a sirloin steak with peppercorn sauce. The short but varied wine list has some swanky appellations in among the quaffers.

Mexican Seoul has grown from street food vendor to grown up restaurant – well, maybe not that grown up. The food’s an irreverent mash-up of (as you’re bright enough to have surmised) Mexican and South Korean. What that looks like is taco after taco piled high with beef bulgogi, spicy tofu, or pork belly, and plates of corn ribs and crunchy, tender wings, drenched in gochujang or honey buffanero sauce, washed down with spicy margs. You’ll find it in Bow Wharf, adjacent to East London Liquor company, a short walk from the canal and Victoria Park.

Say what? A disco-themed Indian restaurant in Notting Hill? Credit for the idea goes to Gunpowder’s Harneet Baweja. A key feature is the jukebox, belting out vintage Indian disco, while diners tuck into the Punjabi bangers: goat seekh kebab, fish and prawn Amritsari pakoras, beetroot and paneer kofta, or bottomless biryani (at Sunday brunch). Don’t think you have to wear sequins and Spandex to come here; the décor’s an exercise in restraint, with polished wood panels, terrazzo, and plain white tablecloths. To drink, a whisky soda (Indian, Japanese, Irish, American) would be the Desi dad choice.